Friday, January 23, 2009

Eduardo II

I didn´t really know what to expect when we started out on our three night two day river boat ride up the Amazon and out of the jungle. They weld these boats together out of sheet metal just upstream of where we got on. Eduardo II was a three story tall boat that stopped at least once an hour at seemingly random spots in the jungle to load and unload people and sometimes unlikely cargo.

At the first stop, John found me to tell me we had run aground because the spot where we parked looked like pure jungle but then suddenly there were many more people on board and we got the hang of the thing. The lower level housed an ever changing cargo: piles of green bananas, cars, crates of chickens and Inca Cola, a pet parrot on a string, a pet turtle in a bowl, turtles for eating, two cows even came aboard at one point, then later a few puppies.

The whole experience would have been more enjoyable if the four bathrooms hadn´t been located on the opposite side of the two hundred people in hammocks. We ate our meals at little table that was also located on the opposite side of those hammocks, which was served by three men who were great cooks and rather effeminate. Our days passed like this: wake up, eat, sit in hammock sleep and read, eat, sit in hammock read, buy popsicle, watch it rain, eat, sleep. A tough life! But eventually we reached Yurimaguas.

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About

This blog started as a place for sharing South American and Asian travel pictures and stories, but for now I am temporarily stationary. Until my next Big Adventure, I will share my small trips and discoveries.